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RELEASE BLITZ: “The Offering Surrender” by Rosary Deville. Rafflecopter Giveaway Included!

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: The Offering Surrender

Author: Rosary Deville

Publisher: Self-published

Cover Artist: Zoe Perdita

Release Date: March 16, 2021

Genre/s: M/M dark erotica; taboo; mpreg; paranormal/urban romance; shifter fantasy; werewolves

Trope/s: alphas and betas; strong/unruly protagonist

Themes: dubious/non-consent; forced marriage; societal inequality; abuse; violence; dom/sub; BDSM

Heat Rating: 5 flames

Length: 98 000+ words/ 183 pages

It is not a standalone story. It requires Book 1, The Offering to be read first.

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Fern’s fate was never his to decide, and now Wereduin Society challenges him in the most brutal way possible.

Blurb
The Offering is nearing the end, and Fern will become a mated beta. So far, he’s been unsuccessful at escaping his alpha, Donovan Blackfang. But in their world, where it’s dog eats dog, Don might be the key to Fern’s survival.
Read the conclusion of the Offering in the riveting second book of the Wolves of Wereduin series.

Excerpt
Hands grabbed my ankle, and I collapsed to the ground, barely time to catch myself on my forearms. How the hell had I missed that alpha lying near a quilt waiting for two challengers to end their fight? Upon seeing me, he must have decided that I was more desirable and snatched me instead. He made quick work of trying to get at my first claim mark. I growled at him before I went limp. Papa had taught me a trick that just might work with this alpha. He didn’t look too smart. He leered down at me like a hungry predator about to eat a willing meal. He leaned over me, whispering.
“You submit so beautifully. You’re such a beautiful beta.” The moment he was near, I shoved my fingers into his eyes. He yelped back, clutching his face. Quickly I rolled out from under him and darted to my feet, running with all I had.
Another alpha spotted me and came at me from the side. The previous alpha—now raving mad at what I had done to him—gained on me from behind. My quilt was located at the top of a cliff to the east. But I was getting closer.
I wanted to yell for help from Don. I mouthed the words, but my voice didn’t work.
Yet another alpha charged me. I saw a beta who had been pinned by him. Looking relieved, she dashed to her feet and made it back to her quilt. Her alpha gave her stone-cold eyes and turned away from her. While the alpha hadn’t thrown her beta out, it looked like she might. The beta got to her knees. Going over, she fell at her alpha’s feet, kissing them, rolling onto her belly. It nagged me that I might have to do that for Don as well. Either way, I had no time to watch the other beta and her alpha or think about the consequences that awaited me at my quilt.
A fourth alpha blocked my path. Shit. I was winded and tired. He jumped, tackling me to the ground. As he took me down, the other alpha jumped on him from behind. The one attacking from the side jumped in as well. I was smashed underneath them as they bit and clawed, trying to kill each other and get to me. I could barely breathe. I saw my quilt through an opening between their bodies.
Don was sniffing the other betas approvingly.
No! I wasn’t going to lose to any of them, and I certainly wasn’t going to let any of these assholes claim me. I decided to use their fighting to my benefit. Crawling through the moving tangle of bodies, arms, and legs, I squeezed my way out of the mass. I was a lot smaller than any of them, so I was able to fit. Had I been taller, it would have been impossible.
One of them realized what I was doing and grabbed my ankle, sinking his claws into my skin. Yelping, I kicked as hard as I could and freed myself. I got to my feet the quickest I ever had and raced up the side of the cliff. I saw my quilt only several meters away. I could make it.
Don glanced up from the beta he sniffed. The damned thing had the gall to roll around on my quilt. If the beta won their challenge and the alpha accepted them, the quilt now belonged to the new beta. Jealousy and something else flared up inside me. Rage. I wanted that beta gone—wanted all those betas off my quilt, but particularly that one, probably because of all of them, she had the most of Don’s attention.
I met Don’s gaze as one of the alphas chasing me grabbed my ankle, and I fell into the dirt. It hurt a lot, but I wasn’t about to stop. Head-banging him—and thanking every mosh pit I had ever been in—I crawled away from the alpha. On hands and knees, I made it to my quilt. A second alpha grabbed me the moment my fingers snagged the fabric. I didn’t let go.
“Get off! Don!” Would he leave me to be claimed by one of these savages? He had the right to. I had left him of my own free will. He was under no obligation to help me. But…he’d said he loved me?
The alpha punched my side, and I gasped, letting go of the quilt. I knew what he planned to do by instinct. Without thinking, I covered the back of my neck over the final claiming spot. Fangs tore into my fingers and the back of my hand, tearing flesh and muscles, and sinking into my bones. One of his fangs succeeded in going between my thumb and index finger, piercing my skin.
Agony tore through my body worse than any pain I had ever experienced. It hurt straight down to my soul. Was this the bond I had with Don being broken? I had heard it was the most painful thing a beta could experience, being claimed after they already had an alpha, even one who was still in the process of claiming them. Don and I had gotten further than I ever realized. I screamed as much as my trapped body allowed. Blood covered my hand. He bit, again and again, trying to pull my hand away.
“Don, please! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Please! I’m begging you!” Words spilled from my mouth. I had no power over them. My insides, my head, my heart, every pore on my body burned. I needed my alpha. This new challenger was succeeding in removing my death grip. Was this it? Did I finally push Don too far? Would I end up with a much worse fate? This terrible werewolf most likely lived on the streets. Maybe he would even turn me into a sex slave to earn some money. “Don…please…”

About the Author

Rosary is an author of erotica ranging from sweet and fluffy to dark and taboo. She aims to foster a sex-positive experience for readers to indulge their fantasies in a fun and safe space. Sometimes she uses her writing to journey into the often hidden and taboo depths of human sexuality. And hopes readers will take away from her stories, not an acceptance of violence and sexual abuse, but rather a way to embrace their inner desires often shamed by society.

Author Links

Blog/Website | Facebook | Facebook Group | Twitter

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RELEASE BLITZ: “Life Support” by Eloise East. $10.00 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway Included!

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Book Title: Life Support (Crush #6)

Author: Elouise East

Publisher: Elouise East

Cover Artist: Maria Vickers

Release Date: March 11, 2021

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance

Tropes: Friends to lovers, Hurt/comfort

Themes: Sexual harassment in the workplace

Heat Rating: 4 flames   

Length: 75 000 words

It is a standalone story, although characters from other books in the series do appear throughout

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Secrets give others more power. Now is the time to fight back.

 

Blurb

What can they do when their safety and self-worth are compromised?

Casey’s usually bubbly, cheeky demeanour is diminished by sexual harassment from a colleague. When Casey becomes scared for his safety, he seeks out a trainer to teach him how to escape. Withholding the secret is stifling, but he sees no other option if he wants to keep his job. Spilling those secrets to an almost stranger changes his life in a way he never thought possible.

Luke spends his time training people in evasive tactics. He loves his job, but feels inferior to his more successful siblings. How can he compete with lawyers, police officers and teachers? When Casey comes to him for training, Luke knows he’s hiding a secret and wants to get to the source. Finally, Casey confides in him, and Luke sets his sights on helping. 

Can they win the fight against people who bring them down? 

 

Excerpt 

“What?” His heart rate increased while their eyes connected.

“You overwhelm me with how brave you are,” Luke whispered.

Casey got lost in the expressive, deep blue pools. No one had ever said that to him before. They’d say he was strong because of his job, or he was clever, but no one had ever called him brave. His gaze flicked to Luke’s mouth, seeing a sheen on them as if Luke had swiped his tongue across them. Casey did the same, swallowing hard. He could feel himself sway closer until Luke’s breath was coasting across his skin. When Luke’s hand rose and cupped his cheek, Casey closed his eyes. 

Before their lips touched, Casey jerked back. “Marcus,” he said, breathing heavily. “I can’t do this to Marcus. No matter how much of an ass he is.” His skin felt flushed, and his nerve endings were tingling with what could have been. At that moment, he wished he was single.

“I’m so sorry, Casey. I shouldn’t have… I didn’t… I’m sorry. You told me your story, and I tried to kiss you. I’m so sorry.” Luke stood and headed towards the door.

“Luke!” He waited until Luke turned back. “Don’t go. I’m not ready to kiss you, especially as I’m with Marcus, but don’t go.” He sighed. “Tell me about you.”

Luke hesitated. “Let’s make a deal.”

Casey’s mouth twitched. “You and your deals.”

Luke winked. “It gets things done. Anyway, people are going to be worried about you after what happened.” He held up a hand to forestall Casey’s questions. “Not everyone saw, but a couple did. How about we go back out, grab some drinks, pretend you’re okay, and we will sit and talk. And you can ask about me.”

Casey’s gaze roamed the guy who was stood by the door, one hand resting on the handle. His clothing was loose but accentuated his sizeable muscles; Casey didn’t feel scared with him. Quite the opposite, in fact.

“Deal.” He gave a slow smile.

Picking up his empty bottle, he diverted to the bin before moving to the door. The closer he got to Luke, the more his skin prickled with awareness. It had never happened in their previous interactions—at least, Casey didn’t remember feeling it—and he wasn’t sure how to react. If he hadn’t been with Marcus, he might’ve started flirting, but that wasn’t his style. The only reason he had met Marcus in the first place was that Liam had introduced them when Casey had gone to pick him up from the gym one day. Casey had been instantly smitten with Marcus’s looks, which were complemented by his personality on their first date—the double date with Alex and Heath.

Casey had second-guessed their relationship when he’d found out that Craig’s ex was a trainer at the gym Marcus worked at and had spoken with Craig about it before feeling happy to try. He hadn’t wanted Craig to feel scared or upset if Marcus was around. Why Casey had never acknowledged before the possibility that Marcus might take Darren’s side of things, he didn’t know.

“Penny for them.”

Blinking, Casey saw they were still standing at the door to the office, and he felt his cheeks flush. “Sorry. I got lost in my head.”

Luke grinned. “Don’t worry. I do it all the time. My mother wanted to murder me as a child because I never heard her shout until she was right next to me. I was too distracted by what I was doing or thinking about.”

The image of Luke with a woman standing over him, yelling at him, made Casey laugh. It was far too similar to what he’d experienced with his mother, which was why it was so easy to picture.

“Come on. Let’s go get those drinks. I think we need them,” Luke said.

 

About the Author 

I am a bestselling author of contemporary MM romance. I write a variety of themes: sweet and fluffy to high angst to taboo, but friendships are integral to each character’s experience. I write books that are emotionally realistic, even if liberties are taken with other aspects of my stories.

Reading and writing have always been a part of my life, although my debut book wasn’t published until July 2019. My experience has come from reading thousands of books over the years and being a perfectionist when it comes to trying to make things right. I live in the centre of the UK with my two children, who make life worth living, keep me (in)sane and make me laugh every single day. 

 

Author Links

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Newsletter Sign-up  |  FaceBook Group 

 

 

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Continue ReadingRELEASE BLITZ: “Life Support” by Eloise East. $10.00 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway Included!

RELEASE BLITZ: “Openly Yours” by Collette Davison. $40.00 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway Included!

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Book Title: Openly Yours (Offbeat Shifters #2)

Author: Colette Davison

Publisher: Independently Published

Cover Artist: Colette Davison

Release Date:  March 2, 2021

Genre: Supernatural M/M romance

Trope/s: shifters, mpreg setting but there isn’t pregnancy or childbirth in the books, age-gap, pop-stars

Themes: The price of fame, treatment of omegas in the pop industry 

 Heat Rating:  4 flames

Length: 68 000 words

Book 2 is a direct follow-on from book 1 and will not have the same impact without having read book 1. 

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Falling in love was the easy part. When we have to face more tragedy, will it bring us closer or drive us apart?

 

Blurb

Now the tour is over, Isaac has to adapt to depending financially on someone else for the first time.

When my world gets thrown into turmoil again, I need to learn that relying emotionally on others isn’t a bad thing.

We have to face our biggest challenge together—creating a different dream from the one we had envisioned.

Openly Yours is an m/m paranormal romance with a loving tiger shifter, a  sweet monkey shifter, enthusiastic family members, and lots of cuddles. Whilst it is set in an alternate universe where omegas give birth, there are no pregnancy or birth scenes in this book.

Trigger warning for scenes revolving around infertility.

 

Excerpt 

“You had news. Is it about the Arches?”

I grinned, unable to keep it from him.

“They accepted our offer?”

“Yes.”

Jesse bounced up and down in my arms, squealing excitedly. “That’s fantastic!”

“We’ve got to get all the building and land checks done and a survey, so it’s not a done deal yet. But all being well, our youth centre is one step closer to opening.”

Jesse grasped my face and kissed me hard. “It’s exciting, isn’t it?”

“Very.”

His eyes widened. “You should invite your dads to come and stay so we can show them the Arches.”

“I’d been thinking about that.” I carried him over to the sofa and sat down with him on my lap. “Maybe it’s about time we moved out of this flat.”

Jesse tilted his head to the side. “Why?”

“Well, right now, if we want to invite my family down, they have to stay in a hotel.” I paused, measuring my next words carefully. “And at some point, we’re going to have a family, Jesse. There’s not going to be room for children in a one-bedroom flat.” I stroked my thumbs over his lower back. “You wanted a house filled with music and the patter of tiny feet, remember?”

Jesse nodded, but he didn’t speak. His eyes were brimming with tears, and his chin wobbled.

“And I wanted a big bath.”

That made him laugh. “We need a huge bath.”

I stared into his dark eyes. “I want to find our forever home, Jesse. And I want to get married.”

Jesse frowned. “We can’t, not until—”

I silenced him with a kiss. “We know roughly when your heats will be. We can plan around it. We’re already mated. You know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Now I want to show everyone else that—your family and mine.”

“And the world?” Jesse asked. “Because we’re not gonna get a cosy little wedding.”

I smiled. “The whole world. I’m yours, Jesse, now, always, and openly.”

Jesse gasped. “I’ve got it!”

“Got what?”

“The title of the song I’m going to write for you.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Will you share it with me?”

He smiled mischievously. “Nope. I think I’m gonna keep it a secret.”

I tickled him until I reduced him to a giggling, writhing wreck on my lap. Then I flipped him onto the sofa and lay over him, tickling him more until he was gasping for air.

“Now are you going to tell me?”

He put his hands around my neck as his breathing slowly returned to normal. “‘Openly Yours’.”

I nuzzled his nose with my own. “That’s beautiful.”

“So are you.”

We looked at each other, my heart filling as I saw how much love radiated from his eyes and smile. I kissed him, teasing his mouth with my tongue. “Let’s set a wedding date and start looking at houses.”

Jesse nodded. “Okay.”

 

 

Check out Secretly Mine, Book 1 in the Offbeat Shifters Series

 

Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited

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Books 3 and 4 Coming Soon

 

About the Author 

Colette’s personal love story began at university, where she met her future husband. An evening of flirting, in the shadow of Lancaster castle, eventually led to a fairytale wedding. She’s enjoying her own ‘happy ever after’ in the north of England with her husband, two beautiful children and her writing.

 

Social Media Links

Blog/Website  |   Facebook Page   |  Facebook Group: Colette’s Cosy Corner

BookBub   |   Twitter    |   Goodreads  |  Instagram: @colettedavison

  Mailing List  |   Newsletter Sign-Up

 

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Continue ReadingRELEASE BLITZ: “Openly Yours” by Collette Davison. $40.00 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway Included!

RELEASE BLITZ: “Star Shadow: The Complete Series” by Beth Bolden.

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Book Title: Star Shadow: The Complete Series

Author: Beth Bolden

Publisher: Beth Bolden Books

Cover Artist: Cate Ashwood Designs

Release Date: February 18, 2021

Genre/s: Contemporary Gay Romance

Trope/s: Rock stars, reunited lovers, friends to lovers, bisexual awakening, hurt/comfort

Themes: coming out, forgiveness, found family

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length: 335,000 words (four full-length novels + bonus epilogue novella)

It’s the entire series.

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Can they fix the mistakes of the past?

 

Blurb

An ex-boyband, betrayed by everyone they trusted.

Star Shadow met when they were only sixteen years old—four different guys, with four different dreams that coalesced into one when they became a worldwide phenomenon.

Hope was shredded, loyalties tested, and love destroyed.

But now there’s a chance to fix the mistakes of the past.

Love renewed. Friendship resurrected. They’ve earned a brand new beginning and a fresh start.

 

Includes four full length novels and an exclusive bonus epilogue novella. Approximately 350,000 words.

Terrible Things – When Caleb walked out, leaving his band and his lover behind, Leo knew he could never forgive. He never expected Caleb to show up again, clean and sober and wanting Star Shadow to get back together. But maybe this might not be so terrible after all.

Impossible Things – For the last ten years, Benji and Diego have not only been members of Star Shadow, but best friends. As much as they’ve both wanted more from their relationship, it never felt worth it to trade what they have for something hot, heady and completely impossible.

Hazardous Things – Felix can’t even remember the first time he crushed on Max, Star Shadow’s drummer. But he’s never acted on his feelings. One, because Max is his older brother’s best friend. Two, because Max is also his friend.Three, Max is technically his boss. And four, worst of all, Max is straight.

Extraordinary Things – Caleb knows he’s earned Leo’s forgiveness. He wants to believe he deserves it, but just when Leo needs him more than ever, a voice in his head insists that he doesn’t. It’s so loud, he can’t block it out. So loud, he’d do anything to silence it. Including risking everything he and Leo, and the rest of Star Shadow, have built together.

 

Excerpt from Terrible Things

Leo was pretty sure he was going to be sick.

Not like a little bit sick, but the type of full-on sick that led to massively puking his guts up into this not-very-clean toilet.

Seriously, that was something they should have added to the tour rider—please ensure all bathrooms were cleaned thoroughly in case Leo Humphries needed to spend an hour crouched over a toilet.

The hard tile was digging into his jean-covered knees and the floor was freezing, but he couldn’t seem to move, didn’t even remember staggering in here. Definitely after he’d fixed his hair and he’d dressed in the simple jeans and t-shirt he’d picked out for the first night. It was only then that what he was about to do hit him, and the big lunch he’d eaten threatened to rise.

He’d been in here about an hour, give or take, and it was a surprise nobody had found him, but just when he’d thanked god that nobody had yet, the door creaked open and he heard footsteps walking toward his stall.

Leo closed his eyes. He’d wanted it to be just about anybody other than who it was. “Leo,” Caleb called softly. “I know you’re in here. Are you okay?”

Leo gripped the dingy toilet with only the tips of his fingers, felt the ceramic edge as it dug into his skin. “Not really,” he mumbled.

“Should’ve told someone. Not just run off.”

“Didn’t want anybody to know,” Leo admitted. Especially you.

“Don’t care.” Caleb’s voice was a little harsh. “Should have done it anyway.” He rattled the stall door. “Let me in.”

Leo exhaled and shook his head before he realized Caleb couldn’t see him. “No. Definitely no.”

Caleb harrumphed and then was quiet for a moment. “I could probably break this down, you know,” he finally said, and the stall door rattled harder this time.

“I’m sure you could,” Leo snapped. “But that would be rude.”

“Don’t care.” The door shook again, even harder this time around. For a split second, Leo actually considered hefting himself off the floor to brace against the flimsy door in an attempt to prevent Caleb’s forced entry.

Not moving won out by a very narrow margin, but then the door jerked hard in its wimpy foundation and Leo had to reconsider. At this rate, Caleb might actually pull the entire set of stalls down, and that wasn’t going to look very good when everyone inevitably found out.

He could see the headlines now. Star Shadow destroys bathroom at tour venue.

Leo raised himself to his knees and flicked the lock. The door swung open and Caleb was standing in the opening, wearing an obnoxiously patterned shirt.

“You’re annoying,” Leo growled, dropping back to his original position and praying that at some point in the next few minutes his body finally decided what it wanted to do. He was frustrated with its indecisiveness.

Never mind that at some point during the evening, he needed to get together enough to actually go out onstage and perform for whoever had decided to show up.

Caleb crouched down by Leo, gaze very concerned. “Are you nervous?”

“No, I ate some bad shellfish,” Leo snapped.

Caleb’s chuckle was soft. “Nerves it is then.”

“Honestly, Caleb. Of course it’s nerves.”

“You have nothing to be nervous about. You know that, right?” Caleb reassured him.

Leo frowned.

Reaching forward, Caleb hesitatingly put his hand on Leo’s back. “I’m serious. You’re great. You’re always great.”

That was so completely untrue that Leo nearly laughed. “Actually, no. I’m not at all.” He paused. “I mean, I’m just not the same, you know? I’m not going to be the same. And they’ll all see it. They’ll see who I really am.”

 

About the Author

 

A lifelong Oregonian, Beth Bolden has just recently moved to North Carolina with her supportive husband and their sweet kitten, Earl Grey. Beth still believes in Keeping Portland Weird, and intends to be just as weird in Raleigh.

Beth has been writing practically since she learned the alphabet. Unfortunately, her first foray into novel writing, titled Big Bear with Sparkly Earrings, wasn’t a bestseller, but hope springs eternal. She’s published twenty novels and six novellas.

 

Author Links

Blog/Website | Facebook | Twitter | BookBub

Instagram | Newsletter Sign-up

 

 

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Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway for a chance to win

a $20 Amazon gift card.

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Continue ReadingRELEASE BLITZ: “Star Shadow: The Complete Series” by Beth Bolden.

RELEASE BLITZ: “Chasing Hope” by Gwen Martin. $10.00 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway Included!

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: Chasing Hope

Author: Gwen Martin

Publisher: Self-Published

Cover Artist: Cate Ashwood Designs

Release Date: February 19, 2021

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance

Trope/s: Small Town Romance, Hurt/Comfort, Out for You, Second Chance at Love, Bisexual Romance

Themes: Finding Love after Loss

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length: 68 000 words/ 177 pages

It is a standalone story.

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Loss chased him away, hope brought him love

 

Blurb

Sean is only twenty-seven, but he’s already lost everything that gave him life. On the verge of losing hope for a future, he moves to a town where no one knows about him, the death of his child, or his failed marriage; but when his nightmares and his guilt follow him without the pitying glares, he realizes he can’t move forward on his own.

Jonah has worked tirelessly to keep his father’s memory alive and be a fixture in the small town he grew up in. Now, nearing forty, his dreams have been long forgotten to keep everyone else’s alive, and he doesn’t know how to reclaim his life as his own without losing his last connection to his father.

But when the two men’s lives collide, they’re forced to confront their grief and accept that there can be life and hope after loss—if you’re willing to chase it.


Chasing Hope is a 68k small-town, second chance at love, M/M Romance. There are subject matters in this book that may act as triggers for some. Readers are invited to check out the complete trigger warning on the copyright page, which can be viewed by clicking on the “Look Inside” preview or by downloading the sample. These triggers contain spoilers for the book.

 

Excerpt

“Well, don’t ever do what I did and sleep with your best friend’s brother.” Jonah rubbed the back of his neck, color tinting his cheeks. “I said that wrong. There’s no ill will or anything. It didn’t last long.”

When Sean spoke, his voice came out hoarse and shaky. “I’m sorry.”

Jonah waved his hand. “Eh, it’s not a big deal. It was a long time ago, and we’re still super close. Candice worries I’ll never date again but dating at 37 is far harder than when you’re in your twenties.”

Sean laughed. “Oh really? Because I’m 27 and I can say that having been married and divorced by the time I was 26 isn’t exactly great dinner date conversation.”

Jonah shifted in his seat, resting his arm along the back of the couch. His hand grazed over Sean’s shoulder, his eyes watching the pattern they traced. “Well, that’s a shame on their part. They’re definitely missing out.”

Sean’s entire body was vibrating, and the muscles in his legs quaking. He didn’t know what he was doing, he didn’t know if he could confess the truth of his sexuality again. Sean had already tried twice, and both times had failed miserably.

Sean had once gone bungee jumping with Parker over the Colossus Bridge in Italy. He didn’t know what he was doing, but the massive expanse of green was so vivid it looked like a photograph. The man who had geared him up spoke broken English and said with a thick Italian accent, “You fly. Be free. Nowhere else but here.”

Sean wanted to take that leap again. Wanted to be free. Wanted to fly.

He leaned over and kissed Jonah.

It wasn’t the best kiss. If anything, judging by Sean’s history of kissing, it was embarrassingly awful. He was a little off center from Jonah’s mouth, and Sean’s lips slid over to the corner. At the same time, he lingered a second too long, and Jonah gasped in surprise, causing Sean’s tongue to slide under Jonah’s bottom lip.

He pulled back, his face burning. Jonah’s hand lifted to his lips, eyes round with shock. Sean couldn’t control his breathing, his hands balling into fists. He licked his lips again, eager to taste Jonah on his tongue. Jonah’s eyes trailed down to Sean’s mouth and stayed there for a protracted beat.

“Um,” Jonah said, his lips pursing out a bit. “That—”

“I’m not straight,” Sean said, blurting the words a bit louder than intended. The rest tumbled out, glued together, sticky and rushed. “I tried to tell you before, but I messed up and I couldn’t—I couldn’t—I mean, I didn’t want to—”

Jonah pressed a finger to Sean’s lips, silencing him. His eyes appeared bluer in the dimming late afternoon, his hair framing his sharp jawline. Sean’s breath came out in ragged huffs as Jonah traced his fingertips along Sean’s chin, over his jaw, and around his temple. He combed those same fingers through Sean’s hair, and Sean couldn’t help but let his eyes flutter shut, lean into the touch.

“When I dated Lee, we didn’t tell anyone because I was worried about Candice finding out about her brother and best friend hooking up,” Jonah said, his voice quiet but even.

Sean tried to listen, tried to pay attention, but it was hard with Jonah’s dull nails scraping along his scalp. He shivered, biting the inside of his cheek hard.

Jonah drew closer, his other hand resting on Sean’s hip. “In the end we realized it wasn’t meant to be. We decided we were better off as friends, and a few months later he started dating the man who is now his husband. They’re better together than we ever would’ve been.”

Jonah’s breath ghosted over Sean’s mouth as he whispered, “There’s been no one since.”

Sean breathed hard through his nose when Jonah’s hand cupped around the back of his neck. “No one?”

“Well, there is someone,” Jonah murmured, low and rumbly.

“Ye-yeah?” Sean whispered. His eyes remained closed, too scared to open them and see how Jonah’s eyes looked. He imagined they were full of heat and as captivating as a clear summer sky. Breathing became difficult, and his heartbeat ramped up to a gallop.

“Yeah,” Jonah said, his voice breathy. “I really want to kiss you. Is that okay?” Jonah whispered.

The huskiness of his voice swirled around Sean like a sharp wind, overwhelming and shocking. He gripped Jonah’s t-shirt and pulled him closer.

“Yes,” Sean said. He wanted to sound confident and sure, but instead his voice came out raw and desperate. The next word slipped between his lips on its own accord. “Please.”

 

About the Author

Gwen Martin grew up in Florida where the sun was always shining, the humidity was high, and Disney was just a hop skip away. She currently lives in Knoxville, Tennessee to experience seasons and be closer to the mountains. When she’s not trying to write one of her million story ideas, she’s usually hanging out with her husband and four cats.

Gwen first started writing at a young age, coming up with stories in class instead of paying attention to the math lesson. Since then she has been exploring her love of writing in various fan communities where she has learned how to cultivate character development and romantic interactions.

She has a strong love affair with cold brew coffee, black cats, and nerding out in various fandoms. When she’s not writing, she’s reading everything she can get her hands on, listening to a lot of lo-fi and making playlists, chilling with her four gatos and obsessing about Pusheen. Because it’s always about Pusheen.

 

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BLOG TOUR: “The Good Ship Lollipop” by Patrick Benjamin

BLOG TOUR

Book Title: The Good Ship Lollipop

Author: Patrick Benjamin

Publisher: KDP Publishing

Cover Artist: Rebecca Covers

Genre/s: Contemporary M/M Romance, Comedy

Trope/s: Love triangles, Frenemies

Themes: Moving on, learning to love again

Heat Rating: 3 flames

Length: 140 000 words/430 pages

It is a standalone book.

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Kyle must choose between the love of his past and the man he could love in the future

 

Blurb

For fifteen years, Kyle and Dustin seemed like the perfect couple. That was until Kyle came home to discover Dustin in bed with a yoga instructor half his age and twice his flexibility. Two years and countless therapy hours later, Kyle has almost put the incident behind him. Being nearly forty and single makes a man bitter, but he’s making do.

Yet, when Kyle’s best friend asks him to be her Man of Honor, on her ten-day Caribbean wedding cruise, Kyle finds himself in a most uncomfortable situation. He ends up trapped on a seafaring vessel for ten days with the man who practically destroyed him.

Face to face with Dustin for the first time since the breakup, unresolved feelings float to the surface, and Kyle and Dustin both begin to wonder if their story is as over as it seems.

While navigating unchartered waters with Dustin, Kyle also meets Jax, a sexy Australian who likes to cruise in more ways than one. Kyle is more than happy to let Jax distract him for ten days. Still, when Jax suggests that he might want more than just a few days of fun, Kyle must choose between the love of his past or the man he could love in the future.

 

Excerpt

No, absolutely not!” I nearly choked on a spinach leaf.

“You have to come,” Sapphire insisted. “I want you to be my Man of Honor.”

“A) That’s not a thing. B) The answer is still no.”

“I can’t get married without you.”

“Sure, you can. There’s no law against it. People do it all the time.”

When Sapphire offered to take me to lunch, I should have suspected something treacherous was afoot. Sapphire and I were like sisters. Sisters of different races and one of them with a penis, but sisters, nonetheless. Our relationship was something enormous and incomprehensible to most people. On paper, we had nothing in common. We had completely different backgrounds and cultural experiences that cultivated entirely different perspectives of the world around us. Despite those differences, we had found each other.

As close as we were, the girl had never offered to buy lunch. She seldom volunteered to pay for anything. That should have been warning number one. When she suggested my favorite Italian restaurant, Armando’s, that should have been warning number two. When she volunteered to foot the bill to attend her destination wedding cruise, I should have known to prepare myself for the Armageddon of bad news.

“You spent fifteen years with the man. What are ten more days?” She spoke with her hands. A piece of chicken flung off her fork and onto the table beside us. The senior couple, who were trying to enjoy their eighteen-dollar salads, glared at us like we each had two heads.

“I’m so sorry,” I mouthed to them.

“I can’t believe you would miss your best friend’s wedding over a tiny, little, uncomfortable inconvenience like this.”

“A cockroach infestation is a tiny inconvenience. Gonorrhea is uncomfortable. What you’re asking me to do is far worse.”

“Don’t be dramatic,” Sapphire said, waving her hand. “Dustin is not that bad.”

“Isn’t he?” He was too tall, too fit, too classically pretty, and all too aware of the fact. He was narcissistic and untrustworthy, but he was also charming and exceptionally good at putting on an innocent act. He could flash his white teeth and his dimples and get people to believe anything he wanted. Still, if you looked into his eyes, you could tell he was soulless.

“Why would you want everyone to join you on your honeymoon, anyway?” I shifted focus. “I hate to tell you this, but if you can’t stand to be alone with Justin for ten days, you probably shouldn’t marry him.”

“Very funny,” she said dryly. “I want everyone there because I want my wedding to be an experience. An amazing memory we can all look back on together.”

“I am not spending ten days, on a tiny boat, in the middle of the Caribbean, with him.”

“It’s a cruise ship,” she corrected. “Besides, you won’t be with Dustin. You’ll be with me.”

“Lies!” I wasn’t buying any of it. “I know exactly what will happen. You and Justin will be too busy enjoying your Caribbean honeymoon to spend any time with me. Then I’ll be trapped, in the middle of the ocean, with no one to talk to except Beelzebub’s concubine.”

“He’s not going to be the only other person there, you know. Several other people will be in our group. You can make one of them your wingman. My father loves you. You can hang-out with him.”

“Honey, don’t take this the wrong way. If I’m on an exotic vacation, and the only man who wants to spend time with me is your sixty-five-year-old arthritic father, I might drown myself in a bathtub.”

“Don’t be silly,” Sapphire dismissed. “You’ll be surrounded by water. There’d be no need to draw a bath.”

I did not look amused.

“I can’t believe you’re still so angry. It’s been over a year.” It had been eighteen months since the breakup, and yes, I was still harboring, hurting, and hating.

I hadn’t seen or spoken to Dustin since the incident. As instructed, he had been gone when I returned to the apartment. With Sapphire’s help and some very strategic planning, I had avoided him throughout the entire decoupling process.

I left yellow Post-it Notes on everything he could take and was extremely vindictive about it. He could have the Blu-ray player, but not the discs or the TV. He could take the kitchen table, but not the chairs. I even kept the Keurig, though I permitted him to take his pods. What kind of monster drank decaf anyway? I also instructed Sapphire to guard the jazz record collection with her life. I detested jazz music, and we both knew it. I planned to pawn or destroy the albums later.

The first few weeks after the breakup, Dustin tried tirelessly to communicate with me. He sent me text messages that I didn’t answer and left voice mails that I refused to listen to. Dustin tried everything short of smoke signals. He even sent me an old-fashioned letter, which I didn’t open and burned immediately. I had nothing to say to him and had no desire to hear what he had to say to me. I had never been an incredibly trusting person, and his betrayal had reinforced all those walls that I had been trying, for years, to dismantle.

Being the forgiving person she was, Sapphire tried to convince me to give Dustin a second chance. Still, I refused, steadfast in my determination that he’d had his chance. Since then, she had been careful not to mention him. Even though I knew full well that she saw him regularly. He was her fiancé’s twin brother. She had to remain cordial. I did not and had no intention of ever being so.

“You simply have to come. We’re going to so many beautiful islands: Turks and Caicos, Bonaire, St. Thomas, and Aruba. You’ve always wanted to go to Aruba.”

That was true, but still, “If you put us on a ship together, I promise you, I will throw him overboard.”

She smiled wide, her teeth gleaming white against the contrast of her chocolate skin. “That’s fine! Just promise you’ll make it look like an accident.”

“Duh,” was the most mature response I could muster. “I don’t want to end up someone’s bitch in a Caribbean prison.”

“Don’t you, though?”

Dirty, prison sex would have been the most action I’d seen in a while. Thirty-nine may have been young by hetero standards, but in the queer world, I was practically a spinster. Being classified as an elder gay meant that my dating pool had been reduced to a few categories. First, those men who were so weird or creepy that nobody wanted them, or second, those who were so bitter and jaded by relationships past that dating them was like trying to build a house out of straw. I was a card-carrying member of category two.

Of course, there was always a third group. Younger men. They were excellent in theory, with their zero percent body fat and their permanent erections. However, too often, their perfect bodies and sexual appetites only camouflaged the fact that they lacked any real substance. If brains were dynamite, most of them couldn’t blow their nose. There were always exceptions. Old souls that knew how to converse about more than just Rhi-Rhi’s new album or T-Swizzle’s latest boyfriend. Those younger men wanted more than sugar daddies. Though, I still couldn’t imagine having enough in common with someone who hadn’t even been alive during the original run of Friends.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t get a date. Even close to forty, I was still cute. Not as attractive as I was at twenty, but I wasn’t a hunchback or anything. My deep green eyes matched my red hair, which I kept cropped short to avoid the bozo-clown-realness it would become if left to grow-out. I was tall and still decently shaped, a little thicker in some places than I’d prefer, but that came with age. At least, that’s what I told myself. I had a good understanding of where that put me in the queer hierarchy. Guys would still bang me; they just wouldn’t brag about it anymore.

Admittedly, the realization that I was no longer prime real estate took some getting used to. Before Dustin, I had been a penthouse in Manhattan, but after fifteen years in couple-town, I was shocked to discover I was now a brownstone in Queens. Next stop? Condemned building in Jersey!

That being said, I was optimistic about my life, even if it meant spending it alone.

“The ship is huge,” Sapphire was still talking. “You won’t even really have to see each other. There are also excursions at every port: zip-lining, snorkeling, hikes, surfing. Come on. You can orbit around each other for ten days without committing a violent felony.”

“Great, so I can spend the entire time by myself?”

“There’s going to be thousands of people on this ship. It’s a floating city. If you’re so worried about being by yourself, you could always try making friends.”

“You’ve known me for twenty years. Am I the type of person who makes friends?”

I was about to find out.

 

About the Author

This is Patrick Benjamin’s second novel. He was excited to try his hand at something lighter and more humorous than his debut novel (The Road Between). Patrick can most often be found spending quiet evenings at home with his husband, Jarrett and his puppy, Dax. When he’s not writing, Patrick can often be seen performing on stage as his glamorous drag persona Tequila Mockingbird. He also volunteers on the Board of Directors of a non-profit organization that has proudly served the LGBTQ2S+ community for 45 years.

 

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BOOK BLAST: “The Emancipation: Dion’s Baptism” by Dijon M. McIntyre

BOOK BLAST

Book Title: The Emancipation: Dion’s Baptism

Author: Dijon M McIntyre 

Publisher: FreedomArtz LLC

Cover Artist: Cameron Dudley 

Release Date: December 5, 2019

Genre: Contemporary Adult Fiction

Trope: Therapy

Themes: Love, Depression, Forgiveness, Coming out, Acceptance

Heat Rating: No heat

Length:  34 365 words/128 pages

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A young gay man has a near death experience that forces him to go through therapy and recount the events of his abusive past that led to his excessive drinking and depression.

 

Blurb

The Emancipation: Dion’s Baptism is a fictional story about a young man who has a near death experience and ends up going to therapy, forcing him to dig up painful memories from his past and discover what is the real cause behind his depression and his excessive drinking. He not only finds the answers he’s looking for but also the strength to forgive all the people who have hurt him.

 

Excerpt 

“It’s something I don’t normally tell people about because I don’t want them blaming my sexuality on that. With me being gay, I feel that people in my life always look for an explanation as to why I’m gay or how I “became” gay. It’s not like it was one particular incident that made me like guys, I’ve been this way for as long as I can remember. As a child I didn’t really know a name for it or a label to attach to it, I just knew I was always attracted to men. I don’t care too much about how anyone else feels about it, this is part of who I am.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, what people in your life did you feel wanted an explanation from you about your sexuality?”

“Everyone, at least that’s the way it felt. Close friends, family members. They all wanted to know why I’m like this; they treated it like it was a disease. I remember people in my family asking me if I had been molested by someone in the family or saying that I turned out like this because I used to carry my grandmother’s purse to her car for her before she went to work. People tried to find every explanation for something that didn’t need one. It’s like I’m asking me why I’m black. Who cares as to why I’m this way, I just am.” Dion doesn’t look Cathy directly in her eyes when talking about him being gay and feeling rejection.

“Seems like you felt the pain of rejection a lot in your life.”

“More than you know, in some ways I think rejection is the very reason that I’m in this office talking to you in the first place.”

“What is your earliest memory of being rejected?”

“Ouch. I need to take another drink before I tell you this one.”

“Is it that bad?”

“Not sure if bad is necessarily the right term to use–more so painful.”

 

August 5th, 2001

“DJ, what are you doing?” Kesiah asks in a slightly critical tone.

“Singing duh, I love to sing.”

“You do?  Since when?” She rolls her eyes.

“Since always, I always sing in my plays at B.C. Cook.” Dion expresses with a child-like excitement

“Well you need to stop singing.”

“Why?” 

“Because you aren’t good at it. Momma used to always say that ‘if you ain’t gone sing a song right then don’t sing it at all.” Keisha walks away, leaving Dion’s eyes full of tears that he silently lets out. 

 

Present Therapy Session

“Keisha is your sister, correct?

“Yeah.” Dion twiddles his thumbs showing his anxiety from talking about his sister.

“When she told you that you couldn’t sing, how old were you?”

“I was seven, I looked at my sister at that time as my best friend. I looked to her for encouragement and support.”

“In that moment, do you feel like she failed you by crushing your expectations of her?”

“I did feel that way, wisdom and time has helped me to forgive her and understand that she wasn’t really trying to hurt my feelings. She was a  thirteen-year-old girl who was still hurting from the death of her mother, our mother. And she didn’t fully know how to process the things that were going on in her life at that time. Looking back, I actually feel bad for not being more understanding about the pain she was in. I held that against her for a long time.

“I know you said that you forgave your sister but what about the effect of what she said? Do you still want to become a singer?”

“Not really, I mean she wasn’t entirely wrong in what she said. She wasn’t entirely right either. I did love singing and my elementary school was a performing arts school so I got to do every area of performance whether I was good at it or not. I decided that my real passion lies somewhere between not just performing but also creating.”

“So you want to be a music producer? Or a singer-songwriter?”

 

About the Author

Dijon McIntyre is an Author/Actor/Director amongst many other things. He was raised in the beautiful sunshine state of Florida which has had a profound effect on his writing and his artistic performances. Getting into acting at the young age of 6, he is familiar with many different types of performing including acting and music but he attributes his love for all of these things to his undying love for God. Raised as a Christian and now identifying as a “follower of Christ”, Dijon has a vision to use his publishing/production company FreedomArtz to open up opportunities for the people who want to make their dreams come true while still maintaining a liveable wage doing what they love. You can find any of his three books on Amazon, Google Books, or any major online retailer. 

 

 

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Continue ReadingBOOK BLAST: “The Emancipation: Dion’s Baptism” by Dijon M. McIntyre

RELEASE BLITZ: “The Case of the Boy in Blue” by Amanda Meuwissen

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: The Case of the Boy in Blue

Author: Amanda Meuwissen

Publisher: Amanda Meuwissen Books

Cover Artist: Amanda Meuwissen

Release Date: February 14, 2021

Genre: Noir M/M Romance

Trope/s: Age gap, private investigator, noir, mystery & detective

Themes: Hidden agenda, revenge

Heat Rating: 3 flames

Length: 33 pages

It is a standalone story.

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This kid was going to be trouble, I just knew it.

“Have a seat, Mr. Valentine. What can I do for you?”

 

Blurb

Leonard Quill, private investigator, never expected a case to walk through his door quite like this one, complete with murder, a frame job, blackmail, and powerful players, especially coming from a man with bright blue eyes behind his glasses, a crooked bow tie, and an impossible smile.

 

Excerpt

Mr. Valentine—call me Westley—looks the part of bumbling fool, who’s too naïve to know he’s walked into the lion’s den even being near this neighborhood without packing some heat but turns out he has a few secrets even darker than mine. His old man is in the clink, doing time for killing his mother. Only Westley swears the real culprit is someone else and his father has been framed.

Maybe that’s true, wouldn’t put much past this city, but if Westley is right about who’s behind the frame job, this isn’t a case I can take lightly.

“Sorry, kid, but you think James Deckard is behind all this? He’s not the type of man you bring down legally.”

“I know that. That’s why I came to you. The cops laughed me out of the precinct.”

“I ain’t a hitman either,” I snarl, wondering if sweet and innocent was an act and this kid has it in him to get all murdery and scuffed up, so long as someone else does the killing.

But those blue eyes go wide, and I know that if there is a darker side to him, it’s buried much deeper than trying to pull one over on me. “I don’t want a hitman, Mr. Quill. But I need someone willing to go the extra mile the cops turn their noses at. Someone who’ll take the risk to get real evidence and finally put this monster away. Even the worst of the worst for all the crooked cops in this town can’t cover up Deckard’s deeds if we have proof.”

An optimist. Great.

Westley isn’t wholly off base though, with the right judge, the right amount of ammunition, but it would be life or death with my hide on the line to get it done. Usually, that’s par for the course, half the fun of the job is getting a little lost in the muck, but Deckard is the type to make you disappear real quiet like—to the outside world. You wouldn’t be gone right away; you’d stay breathing for weeks, screaming where no one could hear you.

“You tell my secretary all this?” I ask, already knowing the answer given Roxanne’s response to the kid.

“Of course. She was sure you’d agreed. Please, Mr. Quill, won’t you help me?”

Damn this kid, and damn Roxanne too. She knows the stakes involved, but she has it out for Deckard’s business partner, Jeffrey Yacobian, who she’s suspected for a long while had a hand in her sister’s murder. This opens another avenue to investigate the scum of our city with me as the point man.

Roxanne also knows I can’t say no. I promised her we’d catch Yacobian someday. Bringing down Deckard could pave the way for that and ease the potent grief of this kid in front of me who might be the last sunny disposition left in these dank streets.

“The risks involved ain’t gonna come cheap. How much is all this worth to you?”

Westley looks me square in the eyes, that blushing virgin routine set aside as he sits up taller—maybe all that light was a clever mask after all. “Everything I have, Mr. Quill.”

“Leonard. You’re either turning over your life savings when this is over or paying for my funeral if it flops, so call me Leonard.” Might as well be on a first name basis considering we’re both gonna end up on ice. “Now let’s start at the beginning, and you tell me everything you know.”

 

About the Author

Amanda Meuwissen is a bisexual author, with a primary focus on M/M romance. As author of the paranormal romance trilogy The Incubus Saga and several other titles with various publishers, Amanda regularly attends local comic conventions for fun and to meet with fans, where she will often be seen in costume as one of her favorite fictional characters. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her husband, John, and their cat, Helga.

 

 

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